incipit

An incipit is a term used in literature, music, and manuscript culture to denote the beginning of a text or a musical work. Derived from the Latin incipit, meaning “it begins” or “here begins,” from the verb incipere, the form refers to the opening words or opening notes that identify a work. In the study of manuscripts and early printed texts, the incipit is the initial line or words that introduce a piece and may serve as a label for anonymous or untitled works. A companion term, explicit, marks the end.

In literature, an incipit is the first words of a text and is sometimes used in bibliographic descriptions, cataloging, and scholarly editions to identify works when the title is unknown or variable. For famous works, the incipit is often quoted, such as Virgil’s Aeneid opening line “Arma virumque canō.”

In music, an incipit refers to the opening musical material—often the first few notes or measures—that serves to identify a composition. In cataloging and musical editions, incipits help distinguish works with similar titles, especially in cases of lost or anonymous pieces. A well-known example is the opening four-note motif of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony, which is frequently described as its incipit.

In both senses, incipits function as mnemonic or identifying fragments that can stand in for a full title, particularly in archival, scholarly, or cataloging contexts. The term underscores the importance of opening material as characteristic and memorable for a work.